Hoist and conveyer.



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(Applicatiomled Nov. 18, 1901.)

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HARRY F. HODGES, OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY.

HOIST AND CONVEYER.

SPECIFICATION forming para of Letters Patent No. 695,050, dated Maren 11, 190s.

Application filed November 18,1901. Serial No. 82,680. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that L'HARRY F. HODGES, ot' the Corps of Engineers, United States Army, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hoists and Conveyers, of which the following is a specification, my present invention being supplementary to that for which Letters Patent numbered 604,828 were issued me by the United States Patent Office under date of May 3l, 1898.

The invention relates to mechanism by means of which the load held in the carrier of a hoist or conveyer, in which the said carrier is restrained from tipping by guide-rollers or contact devices at its upper part adapted to engage the rear faces of xed guides and guide-rollers or contact devices at its lower part adapted to engage the front faces of said guides, may be discharged from the said carrier at any point of its path.

The construction and operation of my invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l shows a side elevation of one of my carriers and its connections complete and also a part of a conveyer-chain, a guide or driving wheel, and a part of the fixed guides or ways. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line l 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 shows in front elevation the carrier device and parts of the conveyer-chains and the fixed guides. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 show carriers in position when delivering loads.

The'drawings show the application of the invention to a hoist or conveyer used for raising loads in which the flexible parts consist of two chains CZ d, passing around sprocketwheels e, of which a portion of the lower set only is shown. A similar set of sprocketwheels is supposed to be placed at the top of the hoist, the power being applied to the shaft of either set. Flexible belts or ropes of any kind may be used for the fiexible parts instead of chains. Fixed guides c c are provided for the purpose to be hereinafter set forth.

The carrier, as shown, comprises two trays ff, attached near their lower extremities to the flexible chains d cl at the points g g and having upper surfaces of a form adapted to receive the load and to retain it until revolved outward and away from the chains about the joints g g through a certain desired degree of arc. A horizontal brace 7i connects the lower parts of the two trays and is turned with cir'- cular cross-section nearits extremities, where it passes through the chains and lower parts of the trays, in such manner as to form axles about which the trays can revolve when free to do so. An upper horizontal brace i' connects the upper parts of the trays and carries rigidly fixed to it an arm j. Lower guide-rolh ers 7.a 7n, turning on the lower horizontal brace h, engage the front faces of the fixed guides c c, and upper guide-rollers b b,pivoted at the. free extremity of the arm j, engage the rear faces of the fixed guides c c. A horizontal brace Z connects the trays for the purpose of adding stiffness to the carrier, and such nuts, screws, pins, cotters, dac., are used as may be necessary to assemble the carrier rig idly. Instead of the guide-rollers b b and 7o lo contact devices may be used, sliding on the front and rear faces of the fixed guides c c.

The relative weight and shape of the carrier and load must be such that when the load isin the carrier the latter is urged by gravity to revolve about the points of attachment g g to the chains d d in a direction outward and away from the said chains, being restrained from such revolution so long as the guide-rollers 7a 7c and l) ZJ bear upon the front and rear faces, respectively, of the fixed guides c c.

When the load is in the carrier, it may be raised or lowered by force applied at the extremity of the chains cl d, the carriers being restrained by the rollers and fixed guides from revolving sufficiently to discharge the load. At the point of the course at which it is desired to discharge the load the rear surface of the fixed guides upon which the upper guide-rollers b b engage is cutaway, as shown at m, Fig. 4, or cut away and bent forward, as shown at n, Fig. 5, or simply bent forward, as shown at o, Fig. 6, in such manner as to release the upper guide-rollers b l? and to permit the carriers to revolve outward and away from the chains d d through a sufficient degree of are to discharge the load, as shown at r, Fig. e. A supporting-roller p is provided at the point of discharge -to receive the lip of the tray and to support it after the upper guide-roller has been released, and a suitable table or other appliance is also provided to receive the load, thus insuring the automatic delivery at the exact place desired. Itis desirable that the motion of the lip of the tray upon the release of the upper rollers of the carrier should be upon the arc of a circle having a large horizontal component away from the chains d d, since this outward swing permits the lip q of the carrier after release to engage upon a roller or other support p, upon which the load is automatically discharged.

This roller is shown atp, Figs. 4 and 5. Were there not a considerable outward swing the roller or support could not be placed near enough to engage the lip of the tray upon release without interfering with the load or carrier as it passes by just before release. For this reason a carrier so designed as to be released at its upper part and to pivot upon its lower part is much preferable to one so designed as to be released at its lower part and to pivot upon its upper part, in which latter case the tray upon release swings instantly downward and toward the chain and the automatic discharge is not effected with cer. tainty and without shock at exactly the right place. When the surface of the fixed guide is cutaway, as shown at m, Fig. 4, the motion of the carrier outward and away from the chain will be more sudden upon release than when the surface is cut away and bent forward, as shown at n, Fig. 5. In both these cases the continued motion of the chains d d will cause the carrier to tip completely over during and after the release of the load, while when the proper surface of the xed guide is simply bent forward, as shown at 0, Fig. 6, the carrier will tip outward and away from the chains and will then right itself as the chain continues to move.

When the carriers are on the downward path, lthey will be inverted, the carrying-surface being downward, as shown at the lower part of Fig. l. In order to right the carriers, the fixed guides at the lower part of the downward path may be shaped as shown at s, Fig. l. As the inverted carrier descends, the rear rollers b b engage on the rear face of the fixed guides at s, and the front rollers k 7c engage on the front face of the xed guides at t, thus constraining the carrier to assume the erect position in passing about the rear sprocketwheel.

The foregoing description applies to a hoist or conveyer to be used for raising loads. By slight and apparent changes the same device may be used to release the loads from the carriers of conveyers used to lower loads or, to carry loads in inclined or horizontal directions.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

l. In a conveyer, the combination with a fixed guide of a beltor chain running parallel thereto, a carrier having its lower portion pivotally supported on said chain, contact devices carried by the upper and lower portions of said carrier and arranged to engage the rear and front faces of said guide respectively, and means for permitting the upper portion of said carrier to move away from the chain when desired.

' 2. In a conveyer, the combination with a xed guide of a belt or chain running parallel thereto, a carrier having its lower portion pivotally supported on said chain, and contact devices carried by the upper and lower portions of said carrier and arranged to engage the rear and front faces of the guide respectively, said guide being formed to permit a lateral movement of the upper contact device at the point where it is desired to discharge said carrier.

3. In a conveyer, the combination of a'belt or chain, a fixed guide, and a carrier pivotally supported at its lower endon said chain and provided with upper and lower contact devices arranged to engage the rear and front faces of the guide respectively, said guide being formed to pass between the contact de vices when the carrier is inverted and to turn said carrier into its load-carrying position.

et. In a conveyer, the combination of a belt or chain, a carrier pivotally supported at its lower portion on said chain, means for holding said carrier in its load-retaining'position, means for permitting said carrier to tilt when desired, and a relatively fixed support located outside the path of said carrier and arranged to be engaged by the same when the latter tilts.

5. In a conveyer, the combination with a lixed guide of a belt or chain running parallel thereto, a carrier pivotally supported at its lower portion on said chain, contact devices carried by the upper and lower portions of said carrier and arranged to engage the rear and front faces of the guide respectively, said guide being formed to permit a lateral movement of the upper contact device at the point where it is desired to discharge the load, and a support located near the path of .said carrier and arranged to engage the same when the latter tilts.

6. In a conveyer, the combination with a fixed guide of a chain d, running parallel thereto, a carrier comprising trays f, f, pivotally secured at their lower extremities to said chain, guide-rollers b, b, and It, la', secured to said trays and arranged to engage the opposite faces of the guide c, said guide being formed to permit the tilting of said trays when in their discharging positions, and a rollerp located near the path of said trays and arranged to support the same when they are permitted to tilt, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subi scribed my name this 9th day of November, 1901.

HARRY F. I-IODGES.

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